Skip to main content

Germany has stopped sharing internet surveillance info with the NSA

Germany has stopped sharing internet surveillance info with the NSA

Share this story

Last month, it was revealed that Germany's electronic surveillance agency, the BND, spent years spying for the NSA, snagging communications on European politicians and defense contractors. The revelation has caused a scandal in Germany, and Reuters reports that the BND has now stopped sharing the sensitive information.

According to Reuters, the decision was made after "a row" within the German government, and the BND is demanding detailed explanations before handing over information, which the US agency has reportedly declined to provide. (Those rules were already in place for phone and fax information, and that information will continue to be passed along.)

The NSA, as first reported in German media, obtained information on thousands of "selectors," search terms like mobile phone numbers and IP addresses the NSA provided before the BND turned over additional information it had stored.

Since the revelations produced by documents from Edward Snowden — including the fact that the NSA spied on Angela Merkel's personal phone — Germany's relationship with the US government has become tense and distrustful. Groups have called on Chancellor Angela Merkel to publicly release the selector lists, while the country's top prosecutor is investigating whether the BND broke any laws.